Single Review: “Back To December”, Taylor Swift

How to start off a Taylor Swift review? Well it’s pretty clear from past reviews that I’m not a huge fan, but I still occasionally enjoy some her songs. “Back To December” is one of those songs. This song is currently garnering quite a bit of media attention, due to the fact that is supposedly about Twilight star Taylor Lautner, but unlike previous songs about her ex-boyfriends this one has Swift blaming herself instead of the other way around. It might not be the best song she’s ever written, but it is easily the most interesting.

Swift’s delicate vocal performance suits the songs somber context perfectly. She’ll never be a talented technical singer and she still has long ways to go if to become a skilled interpretive singer, but “Back To December” proves to be her most promising vocal performance since “White Horse”. Surprisingly enough the song’s weakest aspect is its lifeless production. Lyrically, the song is anything but clichéd, but sonically it sounds like any given power ballad from the past five years. Still, even a lackluster production can’t keep this one down.